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Center Mikhail Grigorenko has been assigned to the Rochester Americans and should be in their lineup for Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. home game against the Syracuse Crunch.

His arrival instantly will give the Amerks an upgrade in terms of raw offensive talent. Grigorenko has size and very good puck skills. What he now must prove is that he can be effective playing against men.

Grigorenko, 19, has been playing for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since mid-January, when the Buffalo Sabres finally decided it wasn't doing him any good being on the NHL roster.

He had produced just 2 goals, 1 assist and 3 points in 18 games with the Sabres. The year before, at age 18, he had just 1-4-5 in 25 NHL games before he ended up back with his junior team.

He was again sent back to his junior team in the QMJHL this season because he was ineligible to come to the Amerks at the time. The no-exemption agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey League forbids the assignment of 18- or 19-year-olds to the AHL until their junior team is no longer playing (either in the regular season or playoffs). The Remparts were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday night so Grigorenko can now play in the AHL.

That's what he should have been doing all season. He's not ready for the NHL and playing against men and high-level talent in the AHL would have been a whole lot better for his development than dancing around 16-and 17-year-old defensemen in the "Q."

But since NHL general managers haven't found a way to appeal for case-by-case exemptions to the rule, the development of some players suffers. Like Grigorenko. Like Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin (third overall in 2013).

In 23 regular-season games for the Remparts, Grigorenko scored 15 goals, 24 assists and 39 points. He had 1-8-9 in five playoff games.

And now the relaunch of his still-promising career begins on Wednesday. Grigorenko needs to prove a great deal to Sabres general manager Tim Murray as well as coach Ted Nolan.

Murray didn't draft him 12th overall in 2012; Darcy Regier did. Murray has no ties, no loyalties and no reason to coddle him.

He's proving it by sending him to the Amerks instead of having him rejoin the Sabres, who are at the minimum number of healthy players.

Grigorenko will now need to earn whatever he gets, because next season he is eligible right from training camp to be assigned to the Amerks.

He has size (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) and talent. He could end up being a good player if he shows the necessary drive and dedication. He didn't show enough of that during his time with the Sabres to make an impact.

Maybe that's because he's still very young in terms of hockey experience. There's a learning curve. When success comes early and often, sometimes prospects don't realize what's really required to produce offense in the NHL -- or even the AHL.

Grigorenko played two games with the Amerks last spring in the first-round playoff loss to the Toronto Marlies. He did nothing (what Amerks player did, besides Zemgus Girgensons?).

Not that Grigorenko really was expected to make an impact last year in the Calder Cup playoffs. The Amerks had never been his team and he essentially was thrown in on the fly.

This time around, it's different. The Amerks have nine games left and he'll quickly be incorporated into what they do.

They've lost nine straight and are in dire straits, now sitting 10th in the Western Conference with nine games to play over the final three weeks of the regular season. The depth charts at goaltending, defense and forward have been looted by injuries and recalls. They're relying on a rookie goalie, Andrey Makarov, who has played just three AHL games.

There is some hope since defensemen Mark Pysyk and Matt MacKenzie and right winger Mike Zigomanis are expected back on Wednesday. Grigorenko should help too.

He has a chance to show to Murray, Nolan and the entire organization what he's all about as a player in the next three weeks.

Staff writer:
Kevin Oklobzija covers Rochester’s two oldest professional sports teams, hockey’s Rochester Americans and baseball’s Rochester Red Wings. He has been at the rink for Amerks hockey since the 1985-86 season and, after providing backup Wings coverage for many years, is now the full-time beat writer. A native of Minnesota and a graduate of St. Cloud State University, Kevin arrived in Western New York in June of 1985 and never left. Apparently he likes it here. He still believes National Lampoon’s Vacation may be the best movie ever made.